Portable synthetic yarn-splicing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A lightweight pistol-type synthetic yarn slicer employing radiant heat to fuse the synthetic yarn without direct contact between the yarn and heating element. The apparatus contains a first retarder for the trigger stroke causing the yarn ends to traverse the heating zone in a controlled manner and a second retarder unit causes delayed activation of an indicator which, in effect, times the exposure of the synthetic yarn to the radiant heat.

United States Patent Willle V. Williams P. 0. Box 687, Dalton, Ga. 30720 [2 1 Appl. No. 790,077

[22] Filed Jan. 9, 1969 [45] Patented Sept. 21, 1971 [72] Inventor [54] PORTABLE SYNTHETIC YARN-SPLICING APPARATUS 2 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 156/433, 156/502, 156/538 [51] Int. Cl B65h 21/00 [50] Field of Search 156/502, 433, 157, 159;95l63;219/234, 235; 340/309.1, 309.5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,234,061 7/1917 Marks 95/63 1,287,045 12/1918 Klein 95/63 1,397,669 11/1921 Wollensak 95/63 1,695,092 12/1928 Geiger 340/3091 1,843,265 2/1932 Barenyi 95/63 2,701,835 2/1955 Anton 219/235 2,745,939 5/1956 Lenk 219/235 2,948,205 8/1960 Rentschler 95/63 3,093,048 6/1963 Starp 95/63 3,096,700 7/1963 Willcox et a1. 95/63 3,323,971 6/1967 Williams 156/433 Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Assistant Examiner-G. E. Montone AtlorneyB. P. Fishburne, Jr.

ABSTRACT: A lightweight pistol-type synthetic yarn slicer employing radiant heat to fuse the synthetic yarn without direct contact between the yarn and heating element. The apparatus contains a first retarder for the trigger stroke causing the yarn ends to traverse the heating zone in a controlled manner and a second retarder unit causes delayed activation of an indicator which, in effect, times the exposure of the synthetic yarn to the radiant heat.

PATENTED SEP21 I97} SHEET1UF3 mower PATENTEB SEP21 1% 3.607 559 sum 3 OF 3 FIG] PORTABLE SYNTHETIC YARN-SPLICING APPARATUS The invention is an improvement on and a substantial simplification of the yarn splicing apparatus in prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,971, issued June 6, 1967, to W. V. Williams. The subject matter of this prior patent is incorporated herein by reference.

In said prior Williams patent, yarn ends to be spliced are held between cooperating jaws which are shiftable by operation of a trigger element to move the yarn ends adjacent to a radiant heating element which becomes energized when the trigger element is pulled rearwardly. Additional pawl and ratchet means also associated with the movement of the trigger are provided to allow gradual step-by-step shifting of the yarn-gripping jaws laterally toward the heating element when the jaws have been retracted to the heating zone. No means is provided in the prior patented apparatus to control the stroke of the trigger or to indicate to the operator the proper exposure time of the yarn to the heating element. With a small amount of skill derived from practice, the patented apparatus operates very satisfactorily but is not ideally suited for usage by a completely unskilled operator.

The present invention apparatus greatly improves upon the prior patented structure and simplifies this structure by eliminating the need for the pawl and ratchet mechanism to control lateral movement of the yarn-gripping jaws and by the provision of two cooperating gear type retarders which regulate, respectively, the action of the trigger and the activation of a signal device, such as a lamp bulb, to enable the operator to properly time the exposure of the yarn to the radiant heat produced by the heating element. The provision of these two retarding units in effect renders the apparatus substantially foolproof and trouble-free even when used for the first time by an unskilled operator. The trigger stroke will be accurately and uniformly retarded and controlled when the gripping jaws and yarn are at the heating zone and the operator will not release the trigger to remove the yarn from the heating zone until the indicator light is activated by the second gear retarder unit, and this in effect accurately times the exposure of the yarn to the radiant heat.

The advantages of the present invention over the prior art will be readily understood during the course of the following specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation on a reduced scale of a pistol type yarn splicer embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed side elevational view of the apparatus with a cover removed and with the trigger in the forwardmost position.

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the apparatus, similar to FIG. 2, with the trigger partly retracted.

FIG. 5 is a similar side elevational view with the trigger fully retracted and with the rear retarder unit beginning to operate.

FIG. 6 is a further view, similar to FIGS. 4 and 5, with the trigger fully retracted after the rear retarder unit has completed its operation.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the opposite side of the apparatus while the trigger is retracted.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are fragmentary side elevational views of an operating member for the front retarding unit and associated latching and camming devices for the member.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the apparatus as depicted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing the front retarder unit and associated indicator lamp.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary plan view of elements shown in FIG. ll.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals designate like parts, the numeral designates a base or support having the general shape of a pistol and including a handgrip portion 21 adapted to contain a storage battery 22 and having a removable cover element 24 allowing battery 22 to be easily removed or replaced.

A main guide rail 25 is fixedly and rigidly mounted on the support 20 as in the prior patent, and movably mounted upon the guide rail 25 for forward and rearward reciprocation is a carriage member 26 having a depending trigger 27 directly and rigidly secured thereto. The support 20 has a slot 28 formed therethrough to provide clearance for the movement of the trigger.

A microswitch 29 having an upper pivoted actuator lever 30 is securely held between the rear portion of guide rail 25 and a bracket plate 31. The actuator lever 30, FIG. 7, carries a forward extension 32 including an inclined end portion 33 in the path of movement of a lug 34 on a rear upper corner of the reciprocatory carriage 26.

Secured against one side of the carriage member 26 through a relative motion connection including screw 35 and slot 35 is a plate 37 carrying a yarn-gripping jaw 38 at its forward end formed identically to the jaw 63 of said prior patent. A coacting slide 39 is mounted on the plate 37 for relative longitudinal movement thereon and carries a second jaw 40 identical to the jaw 65 in the patent. The carriage member 26 is urged forwardly on the rail 25 by a retractible spring 41 and a second retractile spring 42 constantly urges the slide 39 and its jaw 40 in the forward direction on the rail 37. A fixed upstanding stop element 43 on the support 20 defines the forward limit of movement of the slide 39, plate 37 and carriage member 26. Rearward movement of the carriage member 26 is positively limited by an adjustable eccentric stop element 44 on the rail 25. These various components thus far described are substantially identical in their construction and operation to the corresponding elements in prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,971 and need not be dealt with in further detail.

Also, as in said prior patent, a block 45 of ceramic material is fixedly secured through a bracket 46 to the primary support 20 and this block carries a radiant heating element 47 which is identical to the heating element 32 in the patent. Wires 48 and 49 lead from the terminals of the heating element to the microswitch 29 and to a ground terminal 50, FIG. 7. Suitable wiring 51 interconnects the switch 29 and battery 22, FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 to 11 primarily, a forward conventional gear train retarder unit 52 is mounted upon the support 20 near its leading end. This retarder unit 52 may be of a wellknown type employed to control or retard the operation of camera shutters and consists of a train of small gears 53 which are in mesh with each other and with a pivoted driving gear sector 54 having an operating lever 55 at the front of the unit. The rearmost gear 56 of the unit 52 is engaged by a braking pawl 57 whose tapered tip allows free-turning of the gear 56 counterclockwise as when the lever or crank 55 is pulled rearwardly or counterclockwise by a pivoted link 58 whose rear end is rigidly connected with a longitudinally shiftable blade 59. The link 58 is biased forwardly by a retractile spring 60 and therefore the crank 55 is biased in the clockwise direction, FIG. 11. Under influence of the spring 60, pawl 57 allows the gear 56 to escape one tooth at a time and this motion is transmitted through the other gears 53 of the retarding unit 52 back to the gear segment 54. Consequently, whenever the link 58 is drawn rearwardly by the blade 59 and then released for forward movement by spring 60, as will be further described, the gear unit 52 will retard such forward movement for a definite period of time and this constitutes an important feature of the apparatus.

The blade 5? is drawn rearwardly as in FIG. 8 by a loop element 61, carried by the forward end of carriage member 26. Retraction of the carriage member 26 by trigger 27 causes loop element 6K to engage notch 62 of blade 59 thus retracting the blade, the link 58, and turning the crank 55 counterclockwise while the spring 60 is being stretched to store energy. Further and complete retraction of the carriage member 26 and trigger 27 cause an inclined cam face 63 on the blade 59 to engage a fixed pin element 64 carried by a bracket 65 on the main support 20. This engagement, FIG. 9, lifts the rear end of blade 59 and releases the notch 62 from the loop element 61 of the carriage member, thus allowing the spring 60 to move the blade 59 forwardly with link 58 and to turn the crank 55 clockwise under control of the retarding gear train unit 52.

A metal cover member 66 engages over and protects the retarding unit 52 and associated components and this cover member carries an insulating plate 67 on its forward portion upon which is mounted a metallic signal lamp supporting bracket 68 carrying the signal or indicator light bulb 69 and its socket 70. The lamp bulb terminal is thus electrically insulated by the plate 67 from the metal cover 66 and support normally. However, a grounding screw 71 engaging through metal bracket 68 extends below the top wall of cover 66 and in the path of movement of retarded lever 55 so that when this lever swings to the right or clockwise in FIG. 11 under influence of spring 60, it will strike the screw 71 and ground the circuit through the light bulb to the main support 20, thus turning on the indicator bulb 69 so that the operator will realize it is time to release the trigger 27 and that the proper exposure time of the yarn to the radiant heat has elapsed.

Also mounted upon cover member 66 is a slotted guide 72 which receives and guides a leading rod 73 on the forward end of plate 37. This arrangement serves to stabilize the jaw 38 and associated elements during movement with the plate 37 under influence of the trigger.

Housed within the upper portion of the hand grip 21 and below the microswitch 29 is a second or rear gear train retarder unit 74 substantially identical in construction and operation to the unit 52 shown in FIG. 11. It is therefore unnecessary, to a proper understanding of the invention, to describe the retarder unit 74 in detail. In lieu of the crank 55 of the forward retarder unit 52, the rear unit 74 has a vertically swingable crank 75 at one side thereof connected with a gear sector, not shown, similar to the sector 54 of front unit 52. The remainder of the gear train of rear retarder unit 74 may correspond exactly to that shown in FIG. 11 for the unit The lever or crank 75 is shown in FIG. 2 in its forwardmost position and the crank swings freely toward this position under control of a tapered tooth pawl identical to the previously described pawl 57. Rearward movement of the crank 75 is retarded by the gear unit 74 or slowed down in exactly the same manner that the unit 52 retards clockwise movement of the crank 55 by spring 60.

The carriage member 26 carries at its rear end a bracket plate 76 including a bearing 77 for longitudinal rod 78 which is anchored to the rear of plate 37 by an upturned end. 78' engaging through a tubular knuckle 79 on the plate 37. The rear end of the rod 78 is stabilized and guided within another bracket 79 fixed to the support 20. An actuator element 80 for lever 75 is secured rigidly to the rod 78 and moves therewith. A compression spring 81 is arranged between the bearing 77 and the actuator element 80 and thus urges the bearing and the carriage member 26 forwardly relative to the element 80 and rod 78, the latter being slidable in the bearing 77.

When the trigger is pulled rearwardly from its position shown in FIG. 2, the carriage member 26 and the plate 37 with jaw 38 will be retracted while the slide 39 will initially remain forwardly and the spring 81 will be expanded at this stage, FIG. 4. Further retraction of the trigger, as shown in FIG. 5, will bring a forward shoulder 82 of element 80 into contact with the crank 75 of rear retarding gear unit 74 and the crank will begin to turn counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 5. If the trigger 27 is thrust rearwardly by a strong pull to the rear limit of its travel established by the stop element 44, the spring 81 will yield or compress, allowing carriage member 26 to retract but the plate 37 carrying jaw 38 will lag in its rearward movement and be retarded while the crank 75 of rear retarder unit 74 is slowly turning toward its rearmost position of FIG. 6. An inspection of the parts 26 and 37 in FIGS. 5 and 6 will show the relative movement or lag between these parts caused by the rear retarder unit. If the trigger 27 is squeezed more gently, the crank 75 and retarder gear train unit 74 will still serve to slow down and control the rearward retraction of the trigger and there need be no relative movement between the parts 26 and 37 as they travel toward the stop 44. In either case, the rear retarder unit 74 serves to time or regulate the stroke of the trigger and consequently the stroke of the jaw 38 when the yarn to be spliced is at the heat zone established by the heating element 47. When the trigger 27 is released, the springs 41 and i2 return the carriage member 26, plate 37 and associated slide 39 to their forwardmost positions, FIG. 2, exactly as in prior US. Pat. No. 3,323,971. The action of the yarn-gripping jaws 38 and 40 in the present invention and the relative movements of these jaws with plate 37 and slide 39 is identical to the action of the corresponding elements in said prior patent and need not be further described.

The apparatus components on the support 20 are protected by a removable cover 83 which may be identical to the cover 94 in said prior patent.

SUMMARY OF OPERATION With the parts arranged as shown in FIG. 2, the yarn ends to be spliced are placed through the slot of the cover 83 and into the forward jaw 38 as described in said prior patent. The trigger 27 is drawn rearwardly and after some initial travel the element 34 depresses extension 32 of microswitch actuator 30 and the heating element 47 is energized by completing a circult to the battery 22 and through the switch 29 to the heating element. Simultaneously, the blade 59 is being retracted and the crank 55 is being swung away from the grounding screw 71 and the indicator light bulb 69 will be extinguished since there is no grounding of the light bulb circuit to the support 20.

Further retraction of the trigger 27 will cause the yarn ends gripped by the jaws means 38 and 40 to be carried adjacent to the radiant heating element 47 for splicing, but the yarn ends never physically contact the heating element. This further retraction of the trigger causes operation of the crank 75 of rear retarder unit 74 as completely described above and retards the final rearward movement of the plate 37 and gripping jaws 38 and 49 while the yarn is at the heating zone, thus assuring a slow and controlled movement of the yarn ends at the region of the heating element, rather than a haphazard or uncontrolled movement. The result is a perfectly uniform yarn splice every time without carbon residue on the heating element or other parts.

Also, while the trigger is being pulled to its rearward posi tion, the blade 59 will be released from the loop 61 by the action of camming parts 63 and 64 and this will occur considerably before the trigger is fully retracted. This releasing of the blade 59 allows the spring 60 and associated linkage to swing the crank 55 toward grounding contact with the screw 71 and this motion is retarded by the unit 52, as described, to provide a built-in time delay for assuring adequate exposure time of the yarn to the heating element 47. When the crank 55 does finally contact the screw 71, FIG. 12, the circuit through the bulb 69 is grounded through the main support 20, and the indicator bulb is illuminated, thus notifying the operator that the trigger should be released. When released, the forward movement of carriage member 26 will effect the opening of the circuit through the heating element and deenergizing of this element and also of the indicator light bulb.

In comparison to the apparatus in said prior patent, there is no longer any necessity for the pawl and ratchet means shown in FIGS. 8 through 12 and this mechanism has been entirely eliminated. Instead of this mechanism, the present invention employs the front and rear retarder gear train units 52 and 74 which regulate, respectively, the time that the heating element is turned on or energized and the stroke of the trigger and/or jaw plate 37 at the heating zone. With these improved features, there is no longer a necessity for gradually shifting the yarn laterally toward the heating element after initial jaw retraction as in the prior patent, and the present invention apparatus is more foolproof and much more suitable for unskilled users. it is believed that the various features and advantages of the invention will now be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description. One more feature not yet mentioned resides in a second usage of the light bulb 69 to indicate that the storage battery 22 needs or does not need recharging.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

1. An apparatus for splicing thermoplastic yarn comprising a support including a primary guide member, a heating element fixed to the support, carriage means movably mounted on the primary guide member, yam-gripping means on the carriage means and movable therewith and including relatively movable gripping jaws, said jaws movable with the carriage means from an inactive position remote from the heating element to an active position adjacent the heating element, first and second retarder units on the support each having a connection with the carriage means, one of said retarder units serving to retard movement of the gripping jaws in the region of the heating element and the other retarder unit being activated by retraction of the carriage means and setting into operation an indicator means after an elapsed period of time, the first and second retarder units comprising gear train units each having a crank operated input gear element and a pawl retarded end gear element, and linkage means interconnecting the cranks of said units and said carriage means and a relative movement connection between said carriage means and yarngripping means and said linkage means includes a yielding connection between the yam-gripping means and the crank of the first retarder unit.

2. An apparatus for splicing thermoplastic yarn comprising a support having a primary guide member thereon, yarngripping jaw means connected with the carriage means and movable therewith, an electrical radiant heating element fixedly mounted upon the support and positioned so that retraction of the carriage means will carry the jaw means adjacent to the heating element, an electrical indicator on the support, a source of electrical energy connected with the support, wiring electrically interconnecting the energy source, heating ele ment and indicator, an electrical switch on the support connected with the wiring and operable to complete a circuit from the energy source through the heating element and indicator, a switch actuator including a part in the path of movement of the carriage means, a mechanical retarder mechanism on the support having a connection with the carriage means and including a movable crank part, a circuit grounding element forming a part of said indicator in the path of movement of said crank part, and another mechanical retarder unit on the support including a crank part in the path of movement of the carriage means when the carriage means is retracted. 

2. An apparatus for splicing thermoplastic yarn comprising a support having a primary guide member thereon, yarn-gripping jaw means connected with the carriage means and movable therewith, an electrical radiant heating element fixedly mounted upon the support and positioned so that retraction of the carriage means will carry the jaw means adjacent to the heating element, an electrical indicator on the support, a source of electrical energy connected with the support, wiring electrically interconnecting the energy source, heating element and indicator, an electrical switch on the support connected with the wiring and operable to complete a circuit from the energy source through the heating element and indicator, a switch actuator including a part in the path of movement of the carriage means, a mechanical retarder mechanism on the support having a connection with the carriage means and including a movable crank part, a circuit grounding element forming a part of said indicator in the path of movement of said crank part, and another mechanical retarder unit on the support including a crank part in the path of movement of the carriage means when the carriage means is retracted. 